The Unreachable Stars: Book #11 of The Human Chronicles Saga (20 page)

Chapter 19

The
Crescent Star
redocked with the
Pegasus II
and the huge crystal was transferred to the cargo bay aboard the smaller ship. In the meantime, Adam had thanked Angar for all his help and then released the pirates to their salvage operations. He warned them to be judicous in their recovery of the diamonds, in order to maintain a decent price for the precious gem.

Kaylor and Jym, along with their own hoard of
forandite
crystals, remained with the rest of gang, at least temporarily. They were anxious to see what all their efforts would produce once Panur completed his portal detector.

For his part, Adam would be content with the castoff from Panur’s diamond. Fifteen hundred pounds of diamond crystal would be worth a staggering fortune back on Earth—if he was ever allowed to return.

Panur was hard at work assembling his portal detector. If it worked—and Adam could prove that it did—that should be the vindication for his actions. Otherwise…the sale of the diamond through some intermediary, and then an anonymous retirement on some distant Earth-like planet would have to do. An image of the stunning Arieel Bol suddenly invaded his thoughts. Would that even be possible? Could he and the incredible alien make a life with each other if neither of them could return to their respective planets? The fantasy was just about to take hold when the name
Trimen
suddenly came to mind. The alien was Arieel’s official mate—husband, in most jurisdictions. Adam had no idea how his presence as an exile would complicate things. He had a pretty good idea who Arieel would choose, but he wasn’t sure she would have the option.

And then there was Lila.

Arieel had once commented on how her own daughter frightened her. Now Adam could understand why. That fear had manifested itself even more after the brain-interface device had been removed from both their bodies.

According to Arieel, Lila was
still
able to communicate with her telepathically.

This ability was only one-sided, however, as only Lila could initiate the link. It gave Adam the willies, wondering if his own thoughts could be read by the young alien.

As Panur and Lila worked on the diamond cutting—an incredible display of precise skill that seemed to be proceeding at a frenetic pace—Adam decided to test his suspicions.

He created a thought in his mind.
Lila, I wish to speak with you.
He tried to send it with the utmost confidence, to make it appear as though he already knew the truth.

There was a slight hesitation before he felt a warming in his head, and then a soft voice spoke within his mind.

I am not attempting to hide my abilities, Mister Cain.

Adam noticed that Lila didn’t skip a beat in her assistance of Panur, her hands continuing to manipulate sophisticated cutting tools with uncanny—and unexplained—ability, while engaging him in telepathic conversation.

She continued:
This ability is both unexpected and troublesome, not only for my mother and you, but for myself as well.

How do you explain it?

It is obvious I have certain abilities that are not common in my species. The only explanation for this is that I am a mutant of some form, much like Mister Panur. Does this frighten you?

You must be able to tell that it does, although frighten might be the wrong word. Worried might be better.

You wonder what could have caused such a mutation, especially in light of proliferation of such creatures within your narrow sphere of influence?

Can you blame me? Out of the seven people in this room—including Riyad, Reggie, and your father—two are mutants. That’s a pretty high percentage for any demographic. And besides that, you certainly don’t talk like a six-year-old.

Adam sensed the alien laugh.
We both know physical age does not matter here, Mister Cain.

So you must have some thoughts on this, about what happened to you?

I do, yet I do not know if you are ready to hear them.

Adam was caught off guard by the comment.
What do you mean? Is it that bad that…well, I don’t have a word it.

It would be shocking to you.

And then the alien stopped. Twenty seconds went by as Adam waited for her to continue. When it became obvious she wasn’t going to do it on her own, he insisted.

C’mon, Lila. You can’t leave me hanging like this.

I have said too much already. This is a sign of my lack of age and maturity. Ask Trimen.

Trimen? He knows why you’re the way you are?

He suspects.

And his suspicions are correct?

Ask Trimen. Now, Mister Cain, I will be breaking the contact, but before I do I wish you to know that you need not fear me. In regards to my telepathic abilities, I cannot read minds without the other party knowing I am present. Your thoughts are private, as long as wish them to remain so.

Thanks for that…I was wondering.

I know you were.

And with that he thought he detected a slight smile on the face of the stunning young alien, even as her eyes remained fixed on the huge diamond now taking shape in the center of the cargo bay.

********

Adam looked over at Trimen. The alien was leaning against a workbench, his huge, muscled arms crossed, watching the cutting with a detached, almost blank expression. He appeared to be deep in thought.

Most Formilian males looked like him: stunningly handsome, with chiseled features, perpetually tanned skin, and a sexual stamina the Human envied. Adam’s brief tryst with Arieel years ago had embarrassingly pointed out his own inadequacies when compared to what the over-sexed alien was used to. She was polite and sensitive to his feelings, yet Adam knew the truth. He was competing with the likes of Trimen, and although he could unquestionably kick the alien’s ass in a fight, he was no match for him in bed.

But now Adam was sensing something different from Arieel.

As it is with all relationships, sex was only part of it. She seemed to be looking for something more, a deeper level of love and commitment, at least more than Trimen was able to give her, or she was willing to accept.

And now Lila had steered him to Trimen to learn a shocking truth which her father suspected.

With Panur and Lila concentrating on the cutting of the stone, and Arieel napping on a cot nearby, Adam decided there was no better time than the present. He stepped over to the Formilian.

“Can I speak with you…in private?”

Trimen scanned Adam up and down with outright contempt. The Human recoiled slightly from the look, wondering if Trimen could read minds as well. Still, the alien nodded and led the way out of the cargo bay.

********

When they were gone, Arieel sat up on the cot just as Lila looked over at her. Their eyes met, a shared concern clouding their beautiful features. Then Lila turned back to the stone, while Arieel looked to the doorway where Adam and Trimen had just exited. This moment had been inevitable, yet she had always dreaded it.

That Trimen was involved made her realize a sickening truth: he had always known.

********

The Formilian led Adam to the common room of the
Pegasus II
, where he suddenly stopped and turned, causing Adam to come within a nose-length of running into him.

“I will not fight you,” the alien blurted. “I know I would not win.”

“I don’t want to fight you,” Adam said, backing away a couple of steps.

“You may not
want
to, yet you would not resist if called upon.”

“What’s brought all this on, Trimen? We used to be friends.”

“We were never friends. Even as I trained you on the use of the Gift—your implant—I always despised you. You coerced the Order into building a sacred device for you, and when I expressed admiration for how quickly you learned, you mistook that for friendship. Now I know you have continued feelings for Arieel—and she for you. I accept that Formilians have a more open philosophy when it comes to sex, yet in regards to inner commitment, we are just as devout as Humans to our bondings. Yet, to my utter confusion, Arieel has always preferred you. We all face an uncertain future, and I fear I shall be cast away while others find solace in new—or renewed—unions.”

Adam’s jaw had fallen open during Trimen’s tirade.
The dude certainly has a pretty good grasp of things
. It was obvious he wasn’t going to go down without a fight. But that wasn’t the reason for the meeting. It was Lila, and her strange abilities. Coupled with those of Panur, there was a threat here, even if Lila had tried to assure him there wasn’t. The mission wasn’t over—not yet—and until it was, Adam had to be on guard for the unexpected.

“Look, Trimen, circumstances will work themselves out after this whole Sol-Kor thing is resolved, if it ever is. But until then we need to stay focused. I appreciate you coming along and helping Arieel, but I called you in here to talk about Lila.”

Trimen’s already hard features suddenly turned to stone, his dark eyes burning into Adam.

“What about her?”

“C’mon, dude, you know she’s different…and she can talk with people telepathically, even without the implant.”

This news rattled Trimen slightly, evidenced by a solitary blink of his eyes. “I was not aware of that, although it would not be unexpected.”

“Then you admit she’s different!”

Trimen suddenly turned away and walked to the other side of the room, where he stopped and spun back to face Adam. “Of course she is different. She has been since birth, if only recently these differences have become physical. You must remember,
I
am the one responsible for the education and training of the future Speaker, so I have known from the beginning.”

“She told me you know why she is the way she is, and that you would tell me.” Adam stretched the truth a little the last part of statement. She had said to
ask
Trimen, not that he would
tell
.

“She did? Why would she not say herself? Would that not make more sense?”

“It would…if I knew what the hell the both of you were talking about.”

Trimen hesitated, but then he sat down on the couch and leaned back. “You ask why she is the way she is? Is it not obvious? She is a mutant, just like your friend Panur.”